The desert isn’t all graceful golden dunes shaped by the wind into gorgeous dips and swirls. The Sahara contains permanent pools of water hidden in rock grottos.
A rare permanent source of water in the Sahara Desert
There are dry lake beds with filigrees of crystallized salt scattered on the surface.
Remnants of an inland sea, salt deposits can be harvested for animals
Ruins of ancient settlements crown hilltops and rock art drawings of giraffe, ostrich and rhinoceros testify to the days when the Sahara was fertile and lush.
Sand dunes (erg) comprise somewhere between 12 and 25% of the Sahara, depending on whose figures you read. The rest of the land can be rocky with very little or no vegetation (reg), or it can be rocks and sand (hamada).
While the golden dunes are beautiful, there is something awe inspiring about the absolutely flat sand of the reg. The horizon is level 360 degrees and the sky seems like a blue bowl turned upside down over your head. In the mornings your shadow streaks across the flat sands for maybe 50 feet.
The land was featureless to me but the men of the desert see a book full of information. They ‘read’ the ripples in the sand to find their way as well as use the stars at night. They find markers such as wells and unusual rock formations to reassure them that they are on the right path. They note the direction of the wind. Yet they are relieved to reach the well, or village or lone tree that tells them they have not strayed from the correct path.
Touareg men search the horizon for a way through the dunes